Hanyou Hunters
by Horrornatrix
Summary: After a fight with Kagome, Inuyasha flees to the forest, where he is captured by a band of Hanyou hunters. While the others search for him, he is the centerpeice to the sick celebration held by the mysterious clan of slayers.
1. Freak

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**an: This was previously on mediaminer, but I deleted it. It's an old story so be nice. It was probably only like my second story I ever written.**

**Hanyou Hunters**

Chapter 1: Freak

The gang were all headed back to Kaede's after another unsuccessful shard hunt. Inuyasha was in a particularly rotten mood. For not only did they not retrieve any jewel shards, but on their way they had run into Koga of the Wolf demon tribe. Once again he tried to steal Kagome's heart. Even though she claims it is a one sided love, she always seems to protect him by issuing Inuyasha a painful sit.

He couldn't understand it. Koga had thrown out a few nasty comments about Hanyou's and before Inuyasha could even think of a come back, he was eating dirt. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

"Dam that Wolf bastard", he grumbled under his breath.

Kagome gave an annoyed glare at the Miserable Half demon. "Calm down. I can't help it if he likes me."

"Hmmph. Well flirtin' with him doesn't help."

"Yeah, as if", she stopped walking. Shure sign of a big arguement.

"Every time we see him you can't wait to sit me so you can go running into his arms."

"What?!", she yelled, outraged.

"It's disgusting", he added.

Sango and Miroku waited calmly for their arguement to end and didn't even bother to hear what they were argueing about.

"If you weren't such a **Jerk,** and you had some control over your temper, maybe I wouldn't have to sit you."

"So you admit it, you run into his arms."

"I never said that!!!", she screamed.

"I didn't hear you deny it."

"Uggh! Why don't you just grow up!"

"What like Koooga", he mocked in her face.

"Yes!", she screamed back in his face. "Atleast he's nice to me."

"I knew it! You like him!", he pointed an accusing finger.

"Right now I'm liking him better than you!", she pointed back. "What's your problem anyways? Why do you always have to start fights with him?"

"Me?! He called me a half dog Freak!", he spat rudely in her face.

"Grrrr." A scream in her throat quickly worked its way up and came out without any hesitation. "YOU ARE A FR-", she tried to stop herself in mid-sentence, but the words had already come out. "FREAK!"

Everything went silent after that. Even though the others had tried not to listen, they had all heard what she said.

Kagome's still hung open. She just stood where she was, looking at Inuyasha, afraid of what had just happened to their relationship.

Inuyasha didn't yell back. He just stood there, as if with complete understanding. His face turned calm, yet you could still see the anger in his eyes. It was an expression much like his older brother would give.

"Inuyasha, no wait... I didn't -" But he had already taken off.

"Oh Kagome", Sango said sympathetically. "Why did you say that?"

"I..I..", she stuttered. "It just came out. I didn't mean it." She looked in the direction where Inuyasha had fled, like she was about to cry.

"Don't worry about it Kagome", Miroku calmed her. "Just give him time to calm down."

"But he was. I mean, did you see his face? It was like he wasn't even surprised." She shook her head in frustration. "He thinks that I'm just like everyone else now who thinks he's weird."

There was a drawn out silence as they all looked into the distance, where Inuyasha had gone. Miroku sighed. "Let's go back." He put his hand on Kagome's shoulder sweetly. "He'll be back...he knows we're having Ramen." They all gave a little chuckle, trying to cheer Kagome's spirits. She gave a little smile, hoping they were right.

Inuyasha had stopped running as soon as he was shure he was far enough that he wouldn't have been followed. He felt a deep pit of despair in his stomache. He felt like he was all alone in the world again.

'Freak she says...so I'm a Freak!?'

"Grrr. What does she know", he yelled swiping at a tree with his claws. But it did no good. It didn't make him feel any better. In fact, it made him feel worse. He didn't want to be mad at Kagome. He never wanted her to be one of those people he hated.

So is that the end of their friendship. Did they even have a friendship? What did Kagome see him as? Just ... a freak?

Kaede's

"I see", Kaede said, after hearing why Kagome was so upset. "Well this is something he's been hearing all his life. Hopefully it's not as big of a deal to him as we think it to be. Let's just hope he'll realize that he has friends that care about him.

Back in the Forest

Inuyasha sat Indian style on a thick branch of a tree. He relaxed, letting the gentle cool breeze keep his eyes dry. He tried over and over to not think of Kagome. Instead he tried to think of his Mother, the only person that he was shure liked him for what he was. But Kagome kept coming back to him.

He looked down at his claws. 'Not human, nor demon.' He slouched, and sighed deeply. 'I am a freak.'

"Eh!" A sharp pain in his neck jolted him out of his depression. "Huh?" He ran his fingers down his neck and found the object that hurt him. He pulled it out quickly. "Wha-?". It appeared to be a small black dart with a red and black feather at the end.

He looked around for the shooter. He couldn't see anyone. Infact he couldn't see well at all. His vision was blurring considerably. As he looked around he started getting dizzy and began to lose his footing. He slipped off, but caught himself and hung onto the branch. He tried to pull himself up but his body was weakening and he didn't have the strength to hold on.

He fell to the ground with a thump, but was able to stand back up quickly. The world was spinning around him and he soon fell back down. Realizing his weakness, he attempted to crawl away from whatever was after him. He knew he was being hunted. And he knew it was problably going to get him, unless somebody saved him, which at this point he knew he couldn't depend on. The world was getting darker and darker, and soon it was black.

"Get him!", a mans voice shouted.

No longer crawling but rather dragging his body, he continued his struggle. He could hear footsteps closing in on him fast. He gave up his struggle when he was pushed down. " He ain't' goin' nowhere", a mans voice chuckled. "Are you, you dirty bastard?" The man pressed his foot down on the Hanyous neck.

"Over hear", another man came out, waving to another, driving a carriage. They all wore identical red and black slayers uniforms.

"You sure he's unclaimed?", the man in the carriage asked.

"Let me check", the man by Inuyasha lifted his head up by pulling his hair. "What about it? You got any owners?" The man grinned. The Half concious Hanyou remained silent. "Guess not", the man smiled at his friends and started laughing.

Inuyasha felt himself slipping into unconciousness. He could only open his eyes half way. And even then he couldn't see anything. He heard the man above him talking, but couldn't make out any words.

"Load him up", the man in the carriage ordered. Inuyasha was lifted up and hawled into a cage in the carriage. Then the three men took off.

AN: Hope you like it. Please review. The story is finished, but I'm not going to post it all at once. I'll probably just keep adding the next chapter each day. Next chapter: The Celebration begins


	2. The celebration begins

**Hanyou Hunters**

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 2: The Celebration begins

Inuyasha was just now beginning to be aware of his surroundings. He opened his eyes when he heard muffled voices.

"Ugh", he grunted as he sat up groggily. He peered out infront of him, blinking his blurry eyes. He saw people. People he'd never seen before. He struggled to move his wrists, realizing they were tied. Tied much too tightly. He didn't struggle for too long before becoming dizzy again.

'Uh, what's wrong with me?', he asked himself. 'I was in the woods...', he thought, retracing his steps. '..Then I...I um...Ugh!...I don't remember!'

He stumbled to his feet like a newborn and made his way closer to the voices. "Ugh!!" He slammed into a barred wall and fell down.

The men who were talking took notice and chuckled at the Hanyou. Then went back to their conversation.

Inuyasha stared out infront of him, letting his eyes refocus. He saw that there were bars infront of him. He was in a jail cell.

"All right, bring him out."

"Yes Sir."

Inuyasha saw the blurry figures coming closer. One man opened the cell door and came in. Inuyasha tried hard to focus his eyes so he could see if he recognized the man. But when he was dragged up, everything became blurry again. "Wha-", he tried to speak, but found his throat was too dry and painful to talk.

"Come on", the man dragged the Hanyou out. "Here he is Lord Temaru."

"Good job", the man praised. "You sure he wasn't claimed", he asked suspiciously.

"He was all alone My Lord."

The Lord overlooked Inuyasha carefully. "HmphHmph", he chuckled. "Look at those ears."

"Grrrr", the half-demon forced out a snarl.

"Did you sedate him?!" The man asked, surprised at the Hanyou.

"Yes My Lord. Quite a bit."

"Hmph. Well, give this one a little extra", he ordered, sneering at the Half breed.

"But My Lord, If we sedate him anymore it will make him sick."

"I'm not concerned with his health", he said, clearly irritated. "Now do as I say. We don't need him getting loose and attacking the whole village."

"Yes My Lord." The man bowed and began to walk away with the Hanyou.

"Wait!", the Lord called back, noticing something out of the corner of his eye.

"Huh?"

"Bring him back", he waved him over.

"Something wrong My Lord?", the man asked confused.

"What the hell is this!", the Lord yelled outraged as he grabbed the rosary beads that were tucked into Inuyasha's robes.

"I...", the man stumbled. "..I have no idea."

"Did you put this on him?"

"No My Lord. I've never seen it before."

"Do you know what this means?!"

"I..I...uh."

"It means he's already claimed you fool! It means he already has a master!"

Inuyasha pinned his ears back, trying to block out all the yelling which was giving him a splitting headache.

"What am I going to do? I've promised a Hanyou for the celebration." The Lord scratched his stubbly chin, thinking of a solution. "All right...we..", he started to tuck the beads back into the Hanyou's robes. "..are going to forget this is here, and never mention this. You got it!"

"Yes my Lord."

"All right", the Lord spoke in a more relaxed tone. "Now get out of my sight", he waved the man away.

**Kaede's**

Kagome tapped her foot nervously on the floor of Kaede's hut. Although the others had tried to settle her worries, she had only grown more frustrated with every second that went by where Inuyasha had not come through that door. That same door that she had been staring attently at , ever since they had come back from their travels.

Sango sighed painfully for her friend. She'd never seen her like this before. And she could tell that any words of comfort she gave did not help. She knew there was only one thing that would make her happy. "You know Kagome", she spoke calmly. "We could go looking for him."

Kagome's spirits lifted. "Really?", she beamed. "Wait. No", she stopped herself. "No, I can't go running after him." She sighed in frustration. "That would just be pathetic."

Sango smiled sympathetically. "We could just go for a walk...in the woods."

Kagome looked at Sango. "We could", she said, smiling widely.

Sango smiled back. "Let's go", she said enthusiastically, getting up.

"K", Kagome agreed.

"Why don't you come with us Miroku", Sango said, dragging the Monk up.

"Yes Ma'am."

The three friends headed out the door, leaving the Kitsune and old Miko behind. "Good luck you three", Kaede waved.

"What about me?", Shippo complained.

"Don't worry Shippo", Kagome yelled back. "We'll be back soon."

Back at the Slayers village, Inuyasha was feeling even more fatigued. He was sedated even more, as ordered and could now hardly walk. He was being dragged by the roped around his neck. The man that was leading him was walking much too fast and the Hanyou kept falling down. He was led outside, where it seemed an entire village was having some kind of festival. Inuyasha squinted his eyes as the sun hit him. There was a loud roar of cheering as he was brought out. He pinned his ears back, trying to block out some of the noise.

"Come on you nasty beast", the man pulling him ordered. "Make way. Make way", he yelled, pushing Inuyasha through the crowd of people. As he was pulled through the crowd, some people got close enough to kick him and even pull his hair.

The Hanyou let out a low growl. Too weak to sound threatening, but still managed to scare the smaller children in the village.

"Mommy!", one child cried.

Inuyasha looked back in the direction of the crying child, but couldn't see him. A small pang of guilt struck him. As he looked back a small rock struck him on the side of his face, knocking him out of his guilt trip. He let out another growl, deciding that the people deserved nothing more from him.

"All right. Get him up."

After being pulled to the crowd, Inuyasha was pulled forward and hauled onto a cart. The sudden movement caused the Hanyou to almost pass out. He remained concious but threw up in the cart.

"Ugh!" One man moaned, barely dodging it. "You son of a bitch."

"String him up!" A man on the ground ordered.

"With pleasure", the man in the cart mumbled.

The cart was pulled forward by two horses, which led them about twenty feet away to a long beam sticking vertically out of the ground. Hanging above was another beam. (an: Hang man).

"Come on you." Inuyasha was led to the edge of the cart, as he growled at the man pushing him, but was unable to do much more than that. The man took the end of the rope that was around the Hanyou's neck and tossed it over the higher beam overhead, tieing it in a knot. Inuyasha looked at the man, nothing but confusion written on his face.

"Watch your step", the man said in a caring, sarcastic tone. He pushed Inuyasha onto the tiny platform, which wasn't much more than a wooden beam sticking out of the ground. The Hanyou struggled to keep his balance but managed not to fall. The beam wasn't even enough to hold his feet. His toes hung dangerously over the edge.

"All right. Let's go", Inuyasha heard as the carriage disappeared, leaving nothing around him but thin air. His heart raced as he looked down to the ground below, then up to the beam above that held the opposite end of the rope around his neck, realizing the slightest step, and he would fall and be strangled.

'What the hell is this place?', he asked himself. 'Who are these people. And why are they doing this?' He glanced around at the villagers. There was a lot going on. They were having some kind of Festival. Though it seemed most of them were gathered to were Inuyasha was. 'Is this a Slayers village like Sango's? Why the hell would they bring me here? I havn't done anything wrong. Sango would never destroy a demon if it wasn't hurting anything. Atleast... I wouldn't think she would.'

Back in the forest, the others had gotten worried after it seemed they'd walked the whole forest and still havn't bumped into Inuyasha. They had agreed to splitting up and where now all on their own to search for the half demon. Kagome searched the outskirts of the forest while Miroku searched deeper. Sango searched in the deepest parts of the forest.

The Slayer was putting her tracking skills to good use and was sure she had found the Hanyou's trail. She searched the forest's grounds and trees for a fair amount of time before she came upon a suspiscious looking item on the ground. She knelt down and picked up a small dart. She looked at it carefully, then noticed the red and black feather at the end. Her eyes widened. "Oh no."

AN: I went through and tried to fix a few things, sorry if I missed any spelling errors. Next chapter: Sticks and stones may break my bones...


	3. Sticks and stones

**Hanyou Hunters**

AN: Thanks for the reviews.

Riku-Aura777 - thanks for the help. But I'll probably forget the comma' thing. So don't be insulted if you see more errors. (actually, I'm just copying and pasting the chapters. They're already written. So yeah...there will be more errors. Sorry!) But I'll try to remember for future stories. :) thanx

Chapter 3: Sticks and stones...

Sango pannicked as she starred at the red and black dart in her hand. She knew where it came from. And she knew what it meant. She also knew that there was no time to spare. So instead of searching for Kagome and Miroku, to tell them of her findings, she called to Kirara and took off to the Slayers village in search of her Hanyou friend.

Back at the Slayers village, Inuyasha was struggling to keep his balance of the post. He gave menacing looks to all the villagers gazing at him. Some looked in awe, some in fear, some in disgust. He didn't care how they saw him. He hated them. All of them.

A rock was thrown from the crowd, hitting the Hanyou in the face, almost knocking him off balance.

He panicked as his body swayed dangerously back and forth. Everyone gasped and stared wide-eyed, thinking that the Hanyou would surely fall. But he steadily regained his balance after much effort.

Some of the villagers booed, seeing the Hanyou still standing, others just simply laughed, truely enjoying themselves at the half demons expense.

"Lady's and Gentlemen", the Lord Temaru interrupted, quieting down the villagers. "Behold", he motioned towards Inuyasha. "Yet another half demon I have brought you."

The crowd clapped in appreciation.

"It saddens me to tell you that he is not the last of his kind. But I assure you, I will not rest until every half breed is captured and our lands can be safe once more!"

The crowd cheered at the mans words.

Inuyasha growled at the Lord, now that his hearing was coming back to him.

"The blood of a human and a demon should never co-exist"..., the man continued babbling as Inuyasha fidgeted with his wrists, trying to undo the ties. Unfortunately he found that he could keep his balance at the same time and was forced to stopped. He huffed in frustration. How was he going to get out of this? He was too weak from tranquilizers to do much of anything. And to make matters worse, he felt like throwing up again.

"I tell you Ladies and Gentlemen, there is nothing worse than a half breed. There have always been humans and there have always been demons. And for years we lived this way... humans and demons...seperated, as it should have remained. But then...", the Lord glared at Inuyasha. "A new creature was introduced. A creature so disgraceful that Buddah himself was ashamed to allow the life of such an abomination."

Inuyasha quickly wished that he was still unable to hear. The Lords words were penetrating him quickly. As he continued insulting everything that Inuyasha was, he began to lose his self confidence. After being disgraced infront of an audience, he felt like a little kid again. Unable to change the ways of how others saw him. Those times when it seemed like the whole world was against him. Except for his Mother, who was no longer there to comfort him. No longer there to tell these people that they were wrong.

His ears flattened unconciously as he was forced to hear all the words that he had tried his entire life not to listen to.

Sango flew on Kirara'a back high above the forest trees. She hadn't bothered to tell Kagome or Miroku where she was headed. She knew they'd be worried. But there was no time. She had to get to the Slayers village before it was too late. She had heard about these types of Slayers before. For some reason they only hunted Hanyou. Innocent or not, they hunted them like sport. And killed them without hesistation.

Sango's stomache churned thinking of this. Luckily she was close to the village. But that wouldn't matter if he was already dead.

Inuyasha legs shook as he struggled to remain still. He tried not to listen to the Lords speech. And tried to rememeber that not all humans thought of him this way. He thought of Kagome and the others, but then he was only reminded of the last thing she said to him. 'Freak', she called him. His ears flatted at the thought. She couldn't possibly think that way about him, could she? If she did, then nothing else mattered. What she thought was most important. As long as she still cared for him everything would be allright...but if she truely meant what she said... The troubling thoughts played trough his head, as he looked down to the ground below him. 'Looks pretty tempting.'

"Enough allready!", an old raspy voice spoke from within the crowd. "Let the poor man go free", an elderly woman ordered."

Inuyasha's ears perked up to the request in his favor.

"Lady Suka", the Lord groaned, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "What must I do to rid myself of you?"

"Do what is right for once", the frail woman answered.

The Lord grumbled under his breath. "I am doing what's right. I'm protecting everyone in this village", he answered harshly. "Including you old woman."

"Don't be so cocky", the woman sneered. "You're not protecting anyone with what you're doing here? But you don't even care do you? Because you don't even care about this village", she spat.

The Lord glared at the old woman menacingly. "I care", he answered plainly.

"Perhaps you once cared, when you protected the people from the half demons who used to plague our village. However, that was a long time ago. Yet you continue to surprise me with the number of half breeds you continue to bring here claiming that they are a threat. Now tell me, exactly what is this mans crime?"

The whole crowd of villagers looked to the Lord for a response.

The Lord stood, looking most irritated, he didn't want the old woman to ruin his celebration. But he knew the villagers wanted an answer. "... Well..", he stammered, gathering his thoughts. "The true crime was that of his parents, that...um... they....concieved this....unatural..."

"Oh stop your preaching", the woman interrupted.

"Woman", the Lord exhaled through his nose as his patience wore thin. "I'll have yee stoned if you not shut that hole in your face."

"Hmmph", the old woman furrowed her brow. "Fine. Murder the youg boy. But know that your soul is taking one step closer to hell." And with that, she scuttled off.

Inuyasha slightly panicked watching her leave as if she were his life line.

After that the crowd of people started talking. "True. I've never seen this half demon before."

"Neither have I."

"What if the old woman is right? Maybe he's done nothing wrong."

"Maybe he should go free."

The Lord grumbled under his breath, annoyed with his people's change in heart. "I swear to you, he is guilty. All half demons are. He's a murderer!"

"No I'm not!", Inuyasha managed to speak in a wraspy tone, not sounding much like his own. Everyone was surprised to hear the Hanyou speak.

"He doesn't look like the other half demons", one villager spoke.

"Yes", another spoke. "He looks so human."

"Only to decieve you!", the Lord replied. "Don't be fooled by his appearance. These are the most dangerous types of demons. Blending in with our kind then turning on us, destroying our village, raping our woman, killing our people!"

"That's a lie!", Inuyasha yelled. "I would never do that."

The Lord looked at him coldly. "Really?" He walked up so he was standing right below him. "Then look me in the eye and truthfully tell me that you've never killed a human."

Inuyasha stood silent. Truthfully? Truthfully he couldn't. He looked at the villagers as they looked back at him, waiting for his answer. Was he really the moster they all saw him as?

He gave no answer, only turned his gaze away, no longer able to look upon their faces.

The Lord smirked. The Hanyou's silence was all the answer he needed. "I thought so." And without a moments notice, the Lord violently kicked the post which the Hanyou stood upon, knocking him off balance. Everyone gasped in shock as the Half demon fell from the post, hanging himself.

AN: Next chapter: claimed


	4. Claimed

**Hanyou Hunters**

AN: thanks for your reviews. Sorry I left you in suspense!

Ch.4 : Claimed

"Aha!," the Lord chuckled. "His neck did not break. I guess we'll have to watch him strangle to death."

"Ugh!" Inuyasha gagged as the rope continued to strain the life out of him.

"Ahahaha! Quick, light the post," the Lord ordered. "Let's see if he burns or hangs first." A few men came up bearing torches and flammable liquid. "Quickly now," he demanded.

A few of the Villager men clapped at the sight. But many seemed to have a change in heart, now deciding that what their Lord was doing was indeed distateful. However they did nothing to stop him. Only continued to watch the demons useless struggle. A few women sheilded their childrens eys and others made them leave.

Inuyasha's eyes started to roll back just as the fire began to lick at his feet.

"Hiraikostu!"

All the Villagers ducked down in fear as the giant bone boomerang came barrelling through, knocking down the beam to which the Hanyou was attached. Inuyasha fell to the ground, narrowlly escaping the flames.

Sango flew in with Kirara, landing infront of the crowd, just beside of Inuyasha, who now lay still. "Inuyasha." She ran to him, worried that she might be too late. She lifted his head up to check his condition. She let out a breath of relief, as she heard a slight moan come from him.

The villagers looked at the sight in awe and confusion."What is the meaning of this?," The Lord Temaru bellowed, no longer able to remain quiet.

"I'll be asking the questions around here!," she spoke, her voice taking on a harsh demanding tone, making the Lord step back. "I demand this Hanyou be returned to me. He's already claimed!"

The Lord was taken back . He didn't know what to say. He already knew the Hanyou was claimed. But he had ordered him to be captured anyway, feeling pretty confindent that no one would come to look for him. "I...I wouldn't know anything about that," he lied.

Sango leaned down to Inuyasha, grabbing his rosary beads. "You see this? This means he belongs to me!"

Inuyasha woke up to full conciousness as she jerked at the rosary. His heart skipped a beat when he heard what came out of her mouth. But he remained still, feeling to soar and weak to move. He heard Sango yelling at the Lord and the other villagers. She sounded different. Almost scary. She scolded the Lord for his actions, claiming that what they were doing was wrong.

"You of all people must understand," the Lord spoke. "I can see from your attire that you are a demon slayer."

"I only slay demon when it is called for. Only for the protection of others!", she argued, outraged that he would compare what he was doing to what she did.

"Well whatever you choose to do, I hope we can all put this whole mess behind us," the Lord spoke, trying to act more civilized infront of his people. "Please, by all means take your demon.... ah.... Hanyou," he smiled."

Sango gave him a dirty look, then turned to Inuyasha, helping him stand up. "Come on Inuyasha. We're getting out of here." The Hanyou allowed her to help him and lead the way to Kirara.

"Just be sure he doesn't wander far off from home," the Lord called to her. "Wouldn't want this incident to happen again."

Sango narrowed her eyes at the Lord, seeing the sides of his lips curve into a smirk. Using all the energy he had, Inuyasha let out a low growl.

"Let's go Kirara," Sango ordered, more than ready to leave the village. Inuyasha embraced Sango for support as they took off.

He watched as the village got smaller as they flew farther away. He breathed a sigh of relief once he felt a safe distance away, then rested his head on Sango's back, feeling unable to hold it up on his own.

"Inuyasha, are you allright?," Sango asked, noticing his weakness.

"Nnn," he moaned softly.

"Did they hurt you?"

"Nnn," another moan.

She gave up after that, deciding that he would talk when he was ready.

After a few quiet moments of flying, Inuyasha spoke. "Why'd you tell them that?," he asked, his voice still wraspy and hoarse from getting the life choked out of him.

Sango was quiet for a moment. "Tell them what?"

"That..(he cleared his throat).. that I was claimed. You were speaking like you owned me."

Even how weak he was, Sango could easily sense his anger. "I said that because it was the easiest way to get you back. They wouldn't have understood any other way. They would have believed I owned you before they believed I was your friend."

He lifted his head up and backed away, as the slightly discomforting information sunk in...much deeper than it normally would have. He was definately not having a good day. First Kagome calls him a freak, then an entire village ridicules him for being a half breed, then Sango comes in claiming that she ownes him. At this point, he just wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

He rested his head back down and sighed, watching the ground they were passing over. "Where are we going?," he mummbled into Sango's hair.

"Don't worry," she assured him. "We're going straight home."

'Home', he thought. Such a place should bring him comfort and happiness, at the mere mention of the word. However, that was one place he wished not to return to. Not yet anyway. He only wanted to be left alone. Even though it was too late for that now, considering Sango was with him. But then again, if she wasn't, he'd be dead. Also he'd have no place to rest his head.

"I don't want to go home," he told her weakly.

"You, don't, want to go home?," she asked, confused.

"No."

"Why wouldn't you want to go back? I'm shure everyone's worried sick."

"I'm not going back," he answered stubbornly.

"Inuyasha,!" she scolded, getting irritated and a bit worried. She knew the others were worried. They didn't know where he was. They didn't even know where she was. And she was anxious to get back to them.

"Just because you found me, doesn't mean I was ready to go back. Now put me down before I jump off!," he demanded with sudden energy.

Sango's mouth dropped. She couldn't believe how stubborn he could be. And after she saved his life! No wonder Kagome and him fought all the time. She sighed as she lowered Kirara to the forest floor. She hated to let him get his own way, but she wasn't shure how serious he was about jumping. She decided not to take any chances.

Slowly and gracefully, the demon cat landed. Inuyasha took no time in getting off. He jumped down, stumbling to his knees. He got up quickly, grumbling at his weakness and walked off.

Sango followed closely, not wanting him to leave her sight in his condition.

Inuyasha sensed her closeness and quickly turned around, growling at her. Sango froze in her tracks, seeing that he meant business. She let him walk ahead by himself, feeling a little unnerved. She'd never admit it, but sometimes she wished she had the ability to 'sit' him like Kagome did.

She watched were he was going and eventually went after him. She was fairly confindent that his senses weren't fully functioning, and as long as she kept her distance, he'd be unnaware to her presence. She followed him to a small brook, where he was drinking from. She watched as he scooped up the water and tried to swallow. After a few coughing fits, he managed to get some down. When he was done, he got up and started to walk away. He walked awkwardly, feeling dizzy and a bit fatigued.

Sango hid behind a tree as he faced her direction. To her surprise he was still unnaware of her. 'He must be worse than I thought.' She followed him to a quiet part of the forest, where he found a small tree which he was currently trying to jump up into. He tried a few times to reach the lowest branch, each time he failed and fumbled back. Eventually he gave up and collapsed at the base of the tree, breathing heavily.

Sango watched him for a bit longer. The longer she watched, the more annoyed she became. How long was he planning on staying there? She wanted to go home and she wasn't leaving without him. Once she had enough, she slowly and cautiously approached him. She walked right up to him and he still didn't move. 'Was he sleeping?' She knelt downto his level and studied him. 'He was sleeping!' She'd been so anxious to get home and this whole time he'd decided to take a cat nap!?

"Inuyasha," she called out in a moderate tone. She waited for him to wake, but instead she still got no response. She furrowed her brow, getting annoyed. "Inuyasha," she called out louder....Still no response, aside from gentle breathing. She grumbled under her breath. She raised he hand to the half demons head and flicked his fluffy ear. It flicked back in retaliation, but the Hanyou remained asleep.

Deciding that there was no other way to get him to wake, she smacked him lighty, but not too lightly, across his face. But to her surprise it wasn't enough to wake him. "Hmmph," she stood up slowly, wondering what to do. She folded her arms and grimaced at the Hanyou. Slowly that grimace turned curled into a smile when she decided what to do.

She whistled to Kirara. Then slowly and carefully took Inuyasha's arms around her neck and heaved him onto her back. Kirara lowerd herself for easy access. And within a few seconds, she and the clueless Hanyou were on their way back home.

An: Next chapter: Home sweet home. (Sorry to dissapoint, but the chapter is the last.)


	5. Home sweet home

**Hanyou Hunters**

Ch.5: Home sweet home

Back at the hut, Kagome was talking with Kaede about what to do. They had not only Inuyasha to worry about, but now Sango as well.

Kagome was ready to go looking again, but Kaede insisted on waiting a little longer, claiming that Sango could take care of herself. And if she wasn't back yet, it could have meant she was on a good lead, and just decided to take action instead of reporting back. However, all Kagome could think of was her friends in trouble. And all she was doing was waisting time.

"I can't take it anymore", she announced, walking out the door.

"Wait child", Kaede called after her. "Yee musn't be rash. I'm shure they are unharmed." She went after Kagome, but then stopped when she saw her looking up into the sky. It appeared that Sango and Kirara were just arriving. "See", Kaede smiled.

Kagome smiled, waiving to her friends.

Sango approached slowly, as Kagome came barrelling down. Kagome saw Inuyasha on Kirara and was overjoyed that he was finally home. But as she ran up to him, she saw that something was wrong. He was leaning weakly against Sango and his eyes were closed. Kagome looked at Sango for and answer. Sango smiled, putting her finger to her lips, hushing her.

Kagome got the point and relaxed, now knowing that he was only sleeping. But she was surprised to see how soundly he slept. Shurely his keen senses would not allow him to sleep so deeply. "What's wrong with him?", she asked, watching Sango struggling with the sleeping Hanyou. She was not at any means gentle, yet he remained unconscience.

"Ugh", Sango grunted, pulling the Half demon off of Kirara.

"Oh. Sorry", Kagome apoligized and went to help her friend.

"I found him at some slayers village."

"Like yours?", Kagome asked.

"....Not excactly."

"So...why is he sleeping?"

"Well, I think he's been given a heavy sedative. He's been out of it since I found him. He was awake at first, but after he fell asleep, he just refused to get up.

"Soooo...What was he doing there excactly?"

"I'm not shure", she lied. "If he wondered onto their land, they could have captured him, it they thought he was a threat to their Village." Sango decided not to tell her the whole truth, that he was only captured because those people saw him as impure and intended on executing him, only because of his race. There were Somethings about the Feudal era that Sango felt were too Barbaric for Kagome to handle, and this was one of them.

The two girls carried him inside the hut and set him down in a corner, on top of some blankets that Kaede lay down.

"Well...", Kagome looked down at him. "..he looks peaceful."

"MmmHmm", Sango agreed. Though all she could think of was what went on at the Village before she got there. She hoped he would tell her, but she knew he probably wouldn't. She was so happy that she had found him. If she was a second later, then she might have been setting him in his grave instead of a nice soft bed.

"Where's Miroku?", Sango asked, changing the subject.

"Kaede sent him off to pick herbs with Shippo."

"Oh", Sango replied, sitting down next to the Hanyou.

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?", Kagome asked, sitting down with her knees tucked under her chin as she stared at him.

"Mmmm", Sango thought out loud. "I wouldn't count on it."

Kagome pouted at Sango's answer.

"Well", Sango got up. "I should go find Miroku and tell him were back."

"Ok", Kagome replied, her eyes still locked on the dog demon.

Sango left her friends and headed out the door. "Oh, and just incase he wakes up..."

"Yeah?"

"Just know that he didn't want to come back on his own."

Kagome watched her friend leave. Then looked back to Inuyasha. She knew why he didn't want to come back. It was because she had called him a freak. She never realized how much her words could hurt him. He had such a tough exterior, she forgot he was normal on the inside. She sighed deeply, hoping that his forgetful mind would let the whole thing pass by.

She watched him sleep, as she sat there with butterflys in her stomache, wondering what would happen when he woke up. Would they wind up fighting again? Would he be too tired to fight? Would he forget the whole thing? She waited anxiously for Sango to get back, hoping that Inuyasha would not wake up until the others were there.

A few hours laters, everyone was back in the hut. Miroku was reading scrolls. Sango was grooming Kirara. Shippo was getting in Sango's way. Kaede was preparing food and Kagome was still sitting beside of Inuyasha. She had been watching him for a while know and was getting bored. She had already brushed his hair, and was now washing him up a little.

She was washing one of his hands when he decided to wake up. His hand moved as she wiped it, scaring her to death.

He sat up slowly and let out a big yawn. His golden eyes blinked open, as he saw the last person he wanted to see. She sat there smiling innocently at him.

"You're awake", she said cheerfully. "How do you feel?"

He didn't say anything. Just sat there looking annoyed.

"Fine, you don't have to talk." She dunked the rag she was using in some water and went to wipe his face again. He flinched at her touch, moving his face away from the rag. She sighed at his stubborness and moved the rag to his face again. This time he slapped her hand away from him, frowning at her. She frowned back, getting annoyed. She went after his face agian, but he grabbed the rag and threw it at her.

"Hey!", she removed the wet rag from her face. When she looked over, she saw that he was gone. She turned around to see him running out the door. She got up quickly and went after him, but he was far too quick and was gone in a flash. "Inuyasha wait!" She ran in the direction of the forest. No way was she going to let him run away again.

Kaede and Miroku, went outside to see where Kagome was headed. Sango, Shippo and Kirara, who were already outside, looked up from their bath, wondering what had happened. "Should we help her?", Sango asked, holding a sopping wet Kirara.

"Mmmmm. No", Miroku replied cooley. Sango smiled at the wise Monk and went back to her business.

Kagome ran through the forest in search of the stubborn half breed. She headed in the direction of the Goshinboku (sacred tree), knowing that it was his favorite place to sit.

Once she reached the tree, she looked up, and shure enough that's were he sat. "You're not a very good hider, you know."

Inuyasha was surprised to hear her. He turned around, so his back was to her. He sulked, feeling ashamed of how stupid he was. Ofcourse she would find him here.

"Inuyasha. Please come down." She asked politely. But the Hanyou didn't budge. He only sulked deeper. "Inuyasha, I know you're still mad at me. And I want you to know that I didn't mean what I said. I would never think that."

'Then why'd you say it?', he thought to himself.

"Inuyasha?" she called again, wondering if he was even bothering to listen to her. She was hurt when he didn't answer. All she wanted was to talk to him. She looked up the tall tree, wondering if there was anyway she could climb up. There weren't any branches within her reach. Feeling useless, she sat down at the base of the tree and pouted. She couldn't stand to have him mad at her. It was just wrong. It was usually the other way around. She knew he'd been hurt before, so she was usually very careful about her relationship with him. But know she had royaly screwed up. Slowly and unconciously, she began to cry.

Inuyasha's ears twitched at the sound of her quiet sobbing. Slowly he turned around and looked down at the ground. There, at the base of the tree, he saw Kagome crying her little heart out. He hated when she cried. Escpecially when it was because of him. He jumped down quietly and landed infront of her. "Stop crying."

She looked up, surprised to see that he had come down, but she still didn't stop crying. "Why?", she sobbed. "Isn't this what you wanted? It's your fault."

His ears flattened in shame.

"I didn't mean to make you cry. You're just such a crybaby...", 'oops that didn't come out right.' "Look", he stood her up and hugged her. "Just stop crying ok? please."

She hugged him back. No matter what she felt towards him, she was always more than glad to accept a hug from him. And for the time being she forgot what she was crying about in the first place.

"I hate it when you cry. My Mother used to cry all the time. And I always knew it was my fault."

"That's terrible", she mummbled into his shirt, still sobbing a little.

"Are you going to stop crying or what?", he asked, still embracing her.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"Do you forgive me?"

"I already forgave you, the second you started crying."

She smiled, wiping some of her tears away.

"Come on", he motioned her to get on his back. "Let's dry the rest of those tears."

She smiled and jumped on. They took off at top speed, back to Kaede's. Both smiled the whole way back, happy that they survived one more arguement.

THE END.

AN: That's it! Thanks for reading


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